Tyrone Carter to Redskins; UFL Steeler Update

Safety Tyrone Carter, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Steelers, is joining former teammate Willie Parker on the roster of the Washington Redskins.

STEELERS SHAKE THINGS UP

The Steelers shook up the roster on Tuesday, adding CB Corey Ivy and LB Rocky Boiman while releasing CB Keiwan Ratliff and LB Donovan Woods. Woods was added to the roster just last week to replace the departed Arnold Harrison, who is now a Cleveland Brown. All of Tuesday's moves were made with special teams in mind, because the Steelers' coverage units stink out loud, and even more heads had to roll.

Ivy, undrafted out of the University of Oklahoma in 1999, made his NFL debut in 2001 with Tampa Bay after spending time with the Browns, Patriots, and in the XFL and NFL Europe. He played for four seasons in Tampa, earning a Super Bowl ring with the Bucs in 2002-03. After joining the St. Louis Rams in 2005, Ivy spent the next three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, starting 13 games in 2007. Most recently a Cleveland Brown, Ivy was cut in their 2009 training camp. And yes, he was the guy flattened by Limas Sweed in the 2009 AFC Championship. Now that's a claim to fame.

Boiman, a fourth round pick of the Titans in 2002, is also a Super Bowl champion, winning a ring with Indianapolis in 2006-07. A journeyman in every sense of the word, he's also suited up for the Cowboys, Eagles, and Chiefs in addition to the Titans and Colts. He was a four-year starter and team captain while at Notre Dame.

The Steelers also made some changes to their practice squad roster, signing offensive lineman Jonathan Palmer and releasing running back Justin Vincent. Palmer, who goes 6'3", 336 pounds, has also been a member of the Carolina Panthers, Oakland Raiders, New York Giants and Cleveland Browns in his brief NFL career. He entered the league in 2007 as an undrafted free agent out of Auburn.

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TODAY'S HEADLINES

Arnold Harrison has a new gig - The special teams sacrificial lamb is now a Cleveland Brown. It's the second bit of horrible news he's received this week. [PFT]

The Penguins lose another player to injury. Jay McKee, who blocks shots like a hockey version of Shaq, is out two to four weeks with an infected finger. Honestly, I feel like a broken record at this point. [Empty Netters]

Sidney Crosby is carrying the Olympic torch. Captain Crosby is carrying the Olympic torch in his hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia, around 6:30 PM tonight. How many people have carried the Cup and the Torch in the same year? [WPXI]

Kickoff time set for Pitt-Cincinnati. The virtual Big East Championship game will have a noon start on December 5, and will be televised nationally by ABC. Hopefully this one turns out better than the last big Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati game held at Heinz Field. [KDKA]

Your Big East Conspiracy Theory of the Day: Joe Starkey wisely draws comparisons between last Friday's Cincy-WVU game and 2007's Backyard Brawl on the topic of very shaky officiating. Translation: be prepared for some obviously slanted calls in Cincinnati's favor on December 5. [Trib]

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STEELER UPDATE: OBAMA MAKES IT OFFICIAL

--As I alluded to earlier, it's now official: Barack Obama chose Dan Rooney as the new U.S. ambassador to Ireland. Nice timing, on St. Patrick's Day and all.

Rooney was a lifelong Republican, but has shown unwavering support for Obama for quite some time, so the announcement was nothing more than a formality. It's been hinted at for weeks.

Rooney's Irish roots go deep, as he helped found the American Ireland Fund, an organization that has raised millions for advocacy of peace and education in Ireland. He's always been a great ambassador of the city of Pittsburgh, and he's been an influential and diplomatic owner in a room full of NFL billionaires for decades. This is just the natural evolution to the next level. [SI]

--So much for Trai Essex joining Nate Washington in Tennessee. The Steelers put the kibosh on that by signing the o-lineman to a two-year deal on Tuesday. Essex received a signing bonus of $500,000 and will earn salaries of $620,000 and $800,000 over the next two seasons. Affordable depth, affordable depth. [Trib]

--We're reached the time of year when Steeler basketball games are on the radar, and the first that I've seen is the contest on March 27 at 8 PM at Chartiers Valley HS. If anyone has any details or recaps from Steeler basketball, please feel free to share. [PG]

--The Steelers signed LB Arnold Harrison to a one-year deal to return to the team. He was on IR all of last season. While I would've preferred to see "the other" Harrison signed, I always liked whatever it was that Arnold Harrison brought to the table. And speaking of Arnold Harrison and Steeler basketball, as I saw firsthand last year, they go hand in hand. [PG]

--From the same link above, the Steelers brought in Moon HS and Penn State's A.Q. Shipley, a center, for a look-see. They've also visited with Pitt linebacker Scott McKillop and center C.J. Davis. Revise your draft boards accordingly.

--The Steelers didn't end up with DBs Leigh Bodden or Chris Carr, but they are bringing back Fernando Bryant for another go-round. He played in two games last season after joining the Steelers on November 11. Once again, affordable depth. That's the theme of the day. [ESPN]

Update:
--Shawn D. informed me that there was a Steeler basketball game tonight (March 17) at Union High School in New Castle. They played LCAA Sports to a 59-59 tie. Some notables who showed up: James Harrison, Willie Colon, Lou Lipps, and Cardinals WR Steve Breston.

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STEELERS WIN, MENDENHALL FUMBLES

STEELERS 19
PANTHERS 16

"And Skippy shall lead them". That was the theme again last night as the Steelers stole a 19-16 victory from the clutches of the Carolina Panthers in front of 50,485 at Heinz Field.

The first-team offense played just two series and nobody on the unit tore anything, so that makes two victories on the night. Their first-quarter scoring drive was set up on a long pass play from Ben Roethlisberger to Nate Washington. Of course, Washington didn't catch it, it was a 37-yard pass interference call on Carolina's Richard Marshall. But a penalty is a part of the game and as good a reason as any to throw the deep ball, which set up a Carey Davis touchdown moments later.

Among the running backs, Willie Parker had a nice 26-yard run and should be declared ready for the opener. Rashard Mendenhall apparently learned little from Hines Ward's social experiment and coughed up the ball for the third time in two weeks. I know that's a little thing in the grand scheme of things, but some rookies can have fragile psyches, so that may be something to keep an eye on. In relief of Mendenhall, Gary Russell ripped off a 23-yarder but ran for only 20 yards on his other 13 carries. As a team, the Steelers outran Carolina, 178-62.

The Steeler D held the mostly punchless Carolina offense to three field goals from the ageless John Kasay and a touchdown from Brett Basanez to Chris Hannon with 1:54 left in the game. With the score sitting at 16-15, Carolina coach John Fox elected to go for the tie in lieu of a two-point conversion, which bothered both players and fans (especially the guy that was clearly audible yelling at Fox on the KDKA/FSN/WPCW/Whatever Other Station Aired the Game Last Night Because of the Democratic National Convention broadcast).

Luckily, rookie QB Dennis "Don't Call Me Kordell" Dixon marched the Steelers downfield in short order and set up The Internet's Favorite Kicker for his second game-winner in as many weeks.

And with the Skipper's fourth field goal of the evening, we bid adieu to another season of preseason "action". It's been fun, but not as fun as the regular season will be. Polish your black-and-gold goggles, warm up your Terrible Towel, and fire up the tailgating. We've got an appointment with the Texans next weekend.

News and notes:

--Jerome Bettis was on the sideline, in town for an appearance at the new Tanger Outlet Mall in Washington, PA and his ESPN 1250 Radio debut today at 5:30.

--It's official: Arnold Harrison will miss the entire season after tearing his ACL for a second time. Personally, it's a crushing blow for the 25-year-old linebacker, who looked to have the team made.

--From the "Not Really a Bold Prediction" Department: Maybe it's just me, but I'm not counting on WR Limas Sweed to have a Randy Moss-circa '98 rookie season.

--Can we get a radar gun on Byron Leftwich? Please?

--As far as battles go, Willie Reid returned 2 kicks for 49 yards, Mr. Drummond 2 for 57 yards (and a punt for 5 yards, plus 2 catches for 10 yards), and Dallas Baker had 2 catches for 35 yards. The PG's Gerry Dulac says it's down to Baker and Reid.

--Anthony Smith had another bone-jarring hit last night, and thankfully it wasn't on Hines Ward or any of his other teammates.

--Keyaron Fox led the Steelers with 9 tackles and will add solid depth to the linebacking corps this season.

--Mewelde Moore had a nice 26-yard reception out of the backfield and looks like he'll be a solid contributor when called upon.

--Mitch Berger: 2 punts for 88 yards, long 48. Paul Ernster: 2 punts for 55 yards, long 33. You know what that means...POLL TIME!

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